I started off high school not knowing many people and very timid about my classes. It was a completely different environment than St. Mary’s, which was my elementary and middle school. I had to adjust to the public school atmosphere and try to meet new people. In the end, I ended up loving Danvers High School and owe it much gratitude for helping me progress individually, but it took some adjustments at first.
First day of school as a freshman was very intimidating. I had no idea where my classes were in the building and got lost many times. When trying to get to piano lab, a class that I got at random and had not selected, I got so lost that I ended up showing up twenty minutes late, which was not a great way to start off. After the first week of classes it became easier to adjust to the flow of everything. Classes were going well and I was meeting some extremely nice people. I was adjusting pretty well up until it was time to take my first tests and write my first essays; they did not go as well as I thought they would have. I needed extra help in a lot of my classes and ended up staying after more than any of my friends. I had to work hard to get B’s and B-s. Overall my freshman year went well, I had met some great friends and began adjusting to the workload of high school.
There will always be a mix of good and bad teachers in life. My sophomore year was a great example of this. I got some teachers that helped me excel while others were not the most encouraging. My grades slightly improved this year and I was feeling more confident about my classes. It wasn’t until my junior year that I truly figured out how to handle the workload and how to study for tests. Although this year was stressful, preparing for college and keeping my grades up to the highest they had been, it was a great year. I really started figuring out time management and how to handle my work. All of my teachers were really supportive and would give me as much help as I needed. My first three years of high school were overall great but nothing compared to my senior year.
Senior year started off fun but also stressful. Everyone was worried about college applications and if their essays were coming out good enough. Then suddenly, all this was temporarily put off when Mrs. Ritzer, a teacher at my school was murdered. One morning we got a call from the town of Danvers saying that all schools were closed that day due to an investigation. Everyone watched the news for hours waiting to find out why there was a crime scene at the high school. My closest friends came over and we all sat together waiting to find out what could have happened. After a little while it was announced that a teacher had been murdered in the high school and her body had been dumped in the woods behind our school.
Utter shock, confusion, and despair spread through my town. Nobody understood how in our peaceful, friendly town something like this could happen. I did not personally know Mrs. Ritzer, I had only seen her around the building smiling from time to time. The incident was so shocking and upsetting that for people like me who did not even know Mrs. Ritzer, it was still an extremely unsettling tragedy. For people that did know Mrs. Ritzer the pain was a great deal worse. Going back to the school after this tragedy was one of the hardest things the town has had to do. As a community everyone came together and supported each other in whatever way possible. Memorials were set up everywhere, sports teams put the initials CR on their equipment, and many things were dedicated in Mrs. Ritzers name. The most influential thing that was done in my opinion, was that every Wednesday, almost the entire school would wear pink, which was her favorite color. The saying “on Wednesdays we wear pink” from the popular movie mean girls was now related to what we did for Mrs. Ritzer. Although it was a complete tragedy, it was amazing to see an entire community come together and support one another.
My teachers senior year were truly amazing. After loosing a friend and coworker they did everything they could to help us while they themselves were in so much pain. They were an amazing and truly rare group of teachers and I was lucky to be taught and guided by them. I owe them so much thanks for helping my senior class get through everything and encouraging us to complete our college applications and essays. Not many people would have gotten through the year if it weren’t for them. It took time for people to heal from this tragedy but with the help of teachers and people in the community senior year was still amazing.
High School Influence
I started off high school not knowing many people and very timid about my classes. It was a completely different environment than St. Mary’s, which was my elementary and middle school. I had to adjust to the public school atmosphere and try to meet new people. In the end, I ended up loving Danvers High School and owe it much gratitude for helping me progress individually, but it took some adjustments at first.
First day of school as a freshman was very intimidating. I had no idea where my classes were in the building and got lost many times. When trying to get to piano lab, a class that I got at random and had not selected, I got so lost that I ended up showing up twenty minutes late, which was not a great way to start off. After the first week of classes it became easier to adjust to the flow of everything. Classes were going well and I was meeting some extremely nice people. I was adjusting pretty well up until it was time to take my first tests and write my first essays; they did not go as well as I thought they would have. I needed extra help in a lot of my classes and ended up staying after more than any of my friends. I had to work hard to get B’s and B-s. Overall my freshman year went well, I had met some great friends and began adjusting to the workload of high school.
There will always be a mix of good and bad teachers in life. My sophomore year was a great example of this. I got some teachers that helped me excel while others were not the most encouraging. My grades slightly improved this year and I was feeling more confident about my classes. It wasn’t until my junior year that I truly figured out how to handle the workload and how to study for tests. Although this year was stressful, preparing for college and keeping my grades up to the highest they had been, it was a great year. I really started figuring out time management and how to handle my work. All of my teachers were really supportive and would give me as much help as I needed. My first three years of high school were overall great but nothing compared to my senior year.
Senior year started off fun but also stressful. Everyone was worried about college applications and if their essays were coming out good enough. Then suddenly, all this was temporarily put off when Mrs. Ritzer, a teacher at my school was murdered. One morning we got a call from the town of Danvers saying that all schools were closed that day due to an investigation. Everyone watched the news for hours waiting to find out why there was a crime scene at the high school. My closest friends came over and we all sat together waiting to find out what could have happened. After a little while it was announced that a teacher had been murdered in the high school and her body had been dumped in the woods behind our school.
Utter shock, confusion, and despair spread through my town. Nobody understood how in our peaceful, friendly town something like this could happen. I did not personally know Mrs. Ritzer, I had only seen her around the building smiling from time to time. The incident was so shocking and upsetting that for people like me who did not even know Mrs. Ritzer, it was still an extremely unsettling tragedy. For people that did know Mrs. Ritzer the pain was a great deal worse. Going back to the school after this tragedy was one of the hardest things the town has had to do. As a community everyone came together and supported each other in whatever way possible. Memorials were set up everywhere, sports teams put the initials CR on their equipment, and many things were dedicated in Mrs. Ritzers name. The most influential thing that was done in my opinion, was that every Wednesday, almost the entire school would wear pink, which was her favorite color. The saying “on Wednesdays we wear pink” from the popular movie mean girls was now related to what we did for Mrs. Ritzer. Although it was a complete tragedy, it was amazing to see an entire community come together and support one another.
My teachers senior year were truly amazing. After loosing a friend and coworker they did everything they could to help us while they themselves were in so much pain. They were an amazing and truly rare group of teachers and I was lucky to be taught and guided by them. I owe them so much thanks for helping my senior class get through everything and encouraging us to complete our college applications and essays. Not many people would have gotten through the year if it weren’t for them. It took time for people to heal from this tragedy but with the help of teachers and people in the community senior year was still amazing.